About
This phono-semantic compound uses the semantic radical 衣 at the bottom, classifying it as a clothing item, while the top component 加 provides the phonetic value. The character 袈 was created to transliterate the Sanskrit "kāṣāya", the traditional robe of Buddhist monks. It appears almost exclusively in the compound 袈裟 (jiāshā), referring to the patchwork outer robe worn by Buddhist ascetics. As a term coined for religious translation during Buddhism's introduction to China, it carries no older, unrelated native meanings. Its structure pairs a clothing classifier with a phonetic match for the foreign syllable.